

GERMANY AUTHOR
Stefan Müller-Doohm
Also known as: Stefan Müller-Doohm, Stefan Mueller-Doohm
German sociologist
Most acclaimed

Adorno
Theodor Adorno was one of the giants of twentieth-century thought. This volume collects his key articles on the irrational in mass culture. Although he wrote them half a century ago Adorno's ideas are relevant to the understanding of phenomena as apparently diverse as: astrology and "New Age" cults the power of neo-fascist propaganda and the re-emergence of anti-Semitism* the psychological basis of popular culture.His superb essay, The Stars Down To Earth is an innovative and startling analysis of the astrology column in a Los Angeles newspaper. Adorno argues that the column promotes fascist dependency and social conformism in much the same way as fascist propaganda. He maintains that the same principles operate in the mainstream products of the `culture industry'. The three shorter papers illuminate different aspects of Adorno's argument: the relation of occultism to orthodox modern thought, the pervasiveness of anti-Semitism, and the 'psycho-technic' rhetoric of fascist propaganda. The collection shows Adorno at his brilliant and maddening best. Stephen Crook's introduction critically reviews Adorno's argument and offers an assessment of its contemporary relevance.

JÜRGEN HABERMAS. UNA BIOGRAFÍA
"'Jürgen Habermas', wrote the American philosopher Ronald Dworkin on the occasion of the great European thinker's eightieth birthday, 'is not only the world's most famous living philosopher. Even his fame is famous.' Now, after many years of intensive research and in-depth conversations with contemporaries, colleagues and Habermas himself, Stefan Müller-Doohm presents the first comprehensive biography of one of the most important public intellectuals of our time. From his political and philosophical awakening in West Germany to the formative relationships with Adorno and Horkheimer, Müller-Doohm masterfully traces the major forces that shaped Habermas's intellectual development. He shows how Habermas's life and work were conditioned by the possibilities offered to his generation in the unique circumstances of regained freedom that characterized postwar Germany.^ And yet Habermas's career is fascinating precisely because it amounts to more than a corpus of scholarly work, however original and influential that may be. For here is someone who continually left the protective space of the university in order to assume the role of a participant in controversial public debates from the significance of the Holocaust to the future of Europe, and in this way sought to influence the development of social and political life in an arena much broader than the academy. The significance and virtuosity of Habermas's many writings over the years are also fully and expertly documented, ranging from his early work on the public sphere to his more recent writings on communicative action, cosmopolitanism and the postnational condition.^ What emerges from this biography is a vivid portrait of one of the great public intellectuals of our time, a unique thinker who has made an immense and lasting philosophical contribution but who, when he perceives that society is not living up to its potential for creating free and just conditions for all, becomes one of its most rigorous and persistent critics."--Amazon.com.

Adorno-Handbuch
Das Handbuch präsentiert den Diskussionsstand zu Werk und Wirkung Theodor W. Adornos und bietet inhaltliche wie methodische Werkzeuge für die Auseinandersetzung mit dieser für die deutschsprachigen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften des 20. Jahrhunderts prägenden Gestalt. Dokumentation und Bestandsaufnahme einerseits, Kritik und Neudeutung andererseits sind die Ziele eines Unternehmens, in dem es nicht um die Verbreitung einer kodifizierten Lehre geht, sondern um die Darstellung und Analyse der Problemstellungen und Denkmöglichkeiten, für die Adorno exemplarisch steht. – Zentrales Anliegen des Handbuchs ist der spezifisch interdisziplinäre Charakter des Adornoschen Philosophierens. Dessen Potential erschöpft sich nicht in fachgebundener Forschung, sondern wird in der kritischen Verschränkung von Kunst, Musik, Philosophie und den Fachwissenschaften virulent. Für schulbedingte Verengungen ist kein Platz. Die über 40 Beiträger lassen vielmehr die verschiedenen Zugangsweisen und Temperamente in der Auseinandersetzung mit Adornos Werk deutlich werden. (Quelle: [Springer Nature](